262 – Let the Children Sing

#faithbites #faithjourney Sing

As I write this, I’m sitting in the back of our children’s choir practice. These children from different schools, different grade levels, boys and girls, all with different abilities sing together in harmony. (Well…mostly harmony, but they are learning). I can hear different voices but also hear the combined voice of all them. What amazes me, is that their teacher can pinpoint each child’s voice, and what they bring to the overall sound. I know I couldn’t differentiate that unless I was singing then you would hear me in the key of way off.

As children of God, we are just like that. We are all part of the chorus of life, but God knows each of our voice. He can tell when we are singing loud, soft, not singing, or singing in the key of way off. While we are all individuals, we bring something to the chorus that makes it much stronger than us as individuals. What is your part in the choir of God?

Scripture on Each Playing Their Part

There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

¹⁵ Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. ¹⁹ If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.

²¹ The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. ²³ The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. ²⁴ The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. ²⁵ In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.

²⁷ You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

Reflection

Thanks for reading that long passage. I tried to shrink it but it is good in how it is written. It illustrates how we all have a part to play. Maybe you sing alto or tenor or bass or in the key of way off. You are part of the choir. The choir needs a director, someone to print copies of the music, someone to set up the times for singing, reserve the space, feed and water the singers, and a hundred other jobs.

God looks to us in that same light. I will never be an Olympian or a billionaire. I won’t be skinny or invent a world-changing device. God gave me the power to relate, to comfort, and to teach. When he hears the choir of his children, he hears each one of us and how we all move together.

Charge

What is your part in His choir? Are you a singer or a leader or a helper or something else? Realize that you do have a part to play. He made you in his image with specific skills. When you look at what someone else has done, don’t have envy or regret. Know the Lord has given them different gifts. Look at yours and how you maximize them.

Lord, help me to remember I am part of your choir. While I may think I am singing off key, I am singing the song you want me to sing. Let me never forget that all parts are equally important in your Choir.